something like =IF((A1-B1)<=C1,A1-B1,C1)

or in plain english ............. If A1-B1 is smaller or equal than C1
display the result of A1-B1
otherwise display the contents of C1

assuming A1 is always larger than B1

if not you may have to have an "absoluut" condition in the function

=IF(ABS(A2-B2)<=C2,ABS(A2-B2),C2)


--
Greetings from New Zealand

"Theresa" wrote in message
...
How can I get an if formula to return the difference of two cells but not
more than the value of another cell?